Notes:

Siege of Petersburg (Wikipedia 2017)



The 48th Pennsylvania served in the Siege of Petersburg from June 16, 1864, to April 2, 1865, including the Second Battle of Petersburg on June 16–18 and the Battle of Jerusalem Plank Road on June 22–23.[2] At the Second Battle of Petersburg, two soldiers of the regiment earned the Medal of Honor: Private Robert Reid of Company G for capturing a Confederate battle flag, and Corporal Patrick Monaghan of Company F for re-capturing a Union battle flag.[3]

The 48th Pennsylvania then played an integral role in what would become known as the Battle of the Crater on July 30, 1864. In mid-1864, Grant wanted to defeat Lee's army at Petersburg without resorting to a lengthy siege—his experience in the Siege of Vicksburg told him that such affairs were expensive and difficult on the morale of his men. Lieutenant Colonel Henry Pleasants, commanding the 48th Pennsylvania Infantry of Major General Ambrose Burnside's IX Corps, offered a novel proposal to solve Grant's problem. Pleasants, a mining engineer from Pennsylvania in civilian life, proposed digging a long mine shaft underneath the Confederate lines and planting explosive charges directly underneath a fort (Elliott's Salient) in the middle of the Confederate First Corps line. If successful, Union troops could drive through the resulting gap in the line into the Confederate rear area. Digging began in late June, creating a mine in a "T" shape with an approach shaft 511 feet (156 m) long. At its end, a perpendicular gallery of 75 feet (23 m) extended in both directions. The gallery was filled with 8,000 pounds of gunpowder, buried 20 feet (6.1 m) underneath the Confederate works.[4]

At 4:44 a.m. on July 30, the charges exploded in a massive shower of earth, men, and guns. A crater (still visible today) was created, 170 feet (52 m) long, 60 to 80 feet (24 m) wide, and 30 feet (9.1 m) deep. The blast destroyed the Confederate fortifications in the immediate vicinity, and instantly killed between 250 and 350 Confederate soldiers.

Biography from history of the 48th blog ( https://48thpennsylvania.blogspot.com/2018/03/a-new-face-of-48th-william-wainwright.html?ref=digest )
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William Wainwright Potts was born on June 10, 1831, in Columbus, Burlington County, New Jersey, the second child and first son born to Aaron and Rebecca Potts. Sometime when William, presumably, was still young, the family relocated to Schuylkill County, settling in Pottsville, where Aaron and Rebecca would continue to raise their family, which will grow to include three more children, two girls and another boy, Charles Potts, who, like his older brother William would serve in the Civil War.

On May 5, 1853, William Wainwright Potts, not quite twenty-two years of age, married Mary Jane Welch who, over the next 18 years would deliver eight children, though, sadly, four of them would not survive infancy or childhood. Mary Jane passed away at the young age of 37 in the spring of 1871, perhaps from complications from childbirth. Her remains were laid to rest in Pottsville's Presbyterian Cemetery.

Although his occupation is recorded as a 'moulder,' or mold maker, in the regimental records of the 48th, his obituary noted that he was a well-known hotel keeper in the city, and an 1857 article in the Mining Record and Pottsville Emporium recorded a rather interesting tid-bit or anecdote relating to William Potts. Potts, as the article stated, was the proprietor of the White Horse Restaurant. Apparently in June of that year quite a remarkable thing happened--worthy of headlines in the local paper. "On last Wednesday evening about 10 minutes after 10 o'clock," the article recorded, "Mr. William Potts, proprietor of the White Horse Restaurant, opened an immense Absecum salt Oyster, containing forty-seven pearls, varying in size from a pin's head to a very large pea--also a miniature goose of gold, on which was inscribed, 'Buy your clothing at the store of Mr. David A. Smith, on Centre Street, Pottsville, Pa."

With the outbreak of civil war in 1861, thirty-year-old William W. Potts offered his services and that summer was mustered in as 1st Lieutenant, Company D, 48th Pennsylvania Infantry. He stood rather tall, at 5'11" in height, had a "light" complexion, and dark eyes. Upon Daniel Nagle's elevation from captain of Company D to regimental major in November 1861, Potts was promoted to captain and served in that capacity until his discharge in January 1863. Potts was discharged due to a disability and it would seem he was not with the company for the final few months of 1862, since Lt. Curtis Pollock of Company G, would temporarily command Company D at the Battle of Fredericksburg. Potts was likely in poor health.

Charles Potts, William's younger brother, served as a lieutenant in the nine-month 151st Pennsylvania Infantry--the "school teacher's regiment." On July 1, 1863, at the Battle of Gettysburg, during whitch the 151st suffered tremendously high casualties, Lt. Potts was captured. He spent the next fourteen months in captivity but survived the ordeal and returned home.

After William's discharge from the 48th in January 1863, he returned to Pottsville. In 1873, two years after the death of Mary Jane, he remarried. His second wife, Eliza Noble, gave birth to six more children, three of whom would die in childhood. Thus, of William Potts's fourteen children, seven would not live to maturity. With this and with the death of Mary Jane, tragedy certainly seemed to have shadowed William Wainwright Potts.

William remained active in the community and in veteran's affairs, taking a leading role with the Grand Army of the Republic. He would die rather young, due to complications from diabetes, passing away at age 62 in January 1894. His remains were interred in Pottsville's Charles Baber Cemetery.

My thanks go out to Mr. Bill Clark for so generously sharing your family ancestry with me, and for giving me the opportunity to see yet another face of the 48th.



Potts was the proprietor of the White Horse Restaurant.

Captain Eliza Noble 03 Dec 1873Pottsville, Schuylkill, Pennsylvania, USA. Eliza 15 Aug 1850 Glamorganshire, Wales; 14 Aug 1910Pottsville, Schuylkill, Pennsylvania, USA; Aug 1910Charles Baber Cemetery, Pottsville, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Birth:
Aberganaid,

Died:
Age at Death: 59

Notes:

Buried:
Presbyterian Cemetery/

Aaron Rebecca Aaronson 1826. Rebecca 01 Sep 1804; 16 Sep 1875Pottsville, Schuylkill, Pennsylvania, USA; Sep 1875Pottsville, Schuylkill, Pennsylvania, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

William Rebecca Mount 1783. Rebecca 16 Apr 1760 Burlington, Burlington, New Jersey, USA; 1858Burlington, Burlington, New Jersey, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Rebecca Mount; married (1) William Potts, who was killed by Indians in the Mohawk Valley of New York and had 6 children (2)Vincent Wainwright and had 3 children.

Elisha Shreve born 17 Apr. 1792 in Mount Pleasant, Mansfield Twp., Burllington Co., NJ. md. to Ann Potts in 1817 probably in Burlington Co., NJ. He died 14 Oct. 1826. His parents Benjamin Shreve and Rebecca Lippincott. Ann Potts born Apr. 1794 in Burlington Co., NJ. died abter 1860. Her parents were William Potts and Rebecca Mount.

Their children:
1. William P. Shreve born 1821 (census says 1818) of Burlington Co., NJ. md. to Charity Frayzer
2. Benjamin Potts Shreve born abt. 1818 of Burlingtion Co., NJ. md. to Rachel Collings on 6 Sept. 1858.
3. Rebecca P. born abt. 1821 in NJ md. to Jonathan Gilbert on 15 Feb. 1849 in Pemberton Twp., Burlington Co., NJ.
Source: film above